Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic
In the Arctic tundra, snow is believed to protect lemmings from mammalian predators during winter. We hypothesized that snow quality (depth and hardness) should affect mammalian predation rates on lemmings, but that this effect would depend on the predator hunting strategy; and that predation by erm...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:jmammal:94/4/813 2023-05-15T14:31:12+02:00 Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic Bilodeau, Frédéric Gauthier, Gilles Berteaux, Dominique 2013-08-16 00:00:00.0 text/html http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/94/4/813 https://doi.org/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-260.1 en eng Oxford University Press http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/94/4/813 http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-260.1 Copyright (C) 2013, Oxford University Press Feature Articles TEXT 2013 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-260.1 2016-11-16T19:02:46Z In the Arctic tundra, snow is believed to protect lemmings from mammalian predators during winter. We hypothesized that snow quality (depth and hardness) should affect mammalian predation rates on lemmings, but that this effect would depend on the predator hunting strategy; and that predation by ermines ( Mustela erminea ), which can hunt lemmings under the snow, should be higher in preferred lemming habitats. We measured snow depth and hardness at tunnels made by arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ) predation attempts, at winter nests nonpredated and predated by ermines, and at random locations. We also determined winter nest density in 3 habitats (wet, mesic, and gully). Deep and hard snow restricted fox predation attempts made by jumping through the snow, but not those made by digging. Ermine predation was unaffected by snow depth and weakly by nest density but was higher in gully and intermediate in mesic habitats, which are conducive to high snow accumulation, compared to the wet habitat. These results indicate that habitat-related topographical features are more important than snow depth or nest density per se in affecting the winter foraging strategy of ermines. Overall, even though we found a relatively weak effect of the snow cover on predation by foxes and ermines, it is difficult to predict how upcoming changes to the snow cover will affect lemming vulnerability to mammalian predators because a wide range of snow conditions may result from climate warming. Text Arctic Fox Arctic Ermine Mustela erminea Tundra Vulpes lagopus HighWire Press (Stanford University) Arctic Journal of Mammalogy 94 4 813 819 |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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English |
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Feature Articles |
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Feature Articles Bilodeau, Frédéric Gauthier, Gilles Berteaux, Dominique Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic |
topic_facet |
Feature Articles |
description |
In the Arctic tundra, snow is believed to protect lemmings from mammalian predators during winter. We hypothesized that snow quality (depth and hardness) should affect mammalian predation rates on lemmings, but that this effect would depend on the predator hunting strategy; and that predation by ermines ( Mustela erminea ), which can hunt lemmings under the snow, should be higher in preferred lemming habitats. We measured snow depth and hardness at tunnels made by arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ) predation attempts, at winter nests nonpredated and predated by ermines, and at random locations. We also determined winter nest density in 3 habitats (wet, mesic, and gully). Deep and hard snow restricted fox predation attempts made by jumping through the snow, but not those made by digging. Ermine predation was unaffected by snow depth and weakly by nest density but was higher in gully and intermediate in mesic habitats, which are conducive to high snow accumulation, compared to the wet habitat. These results indicate that habitat-related topographical features are more important than snow depth or nest density per se in affecting the winter foraging strategy of ermines. Overall, even though we found a relatively weak effect of the snow cover on predation by foxes and ermines, it is difficult to predict how upcoming changes to the snow cover will affect lemming vulnerability to mammalian predators because a wide range of snow conditions may result from climate warming. |
format |
Text |
author |
Bilodeau, Frédéric Gauthier, Gilles Berteaux, Dominique |
author_facet |
Bilodeau, Frédéric Gauthier, Gilles Berteaux, Dominique |
author_sort |
Bilodeau, Frédéric |
title |
Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic |
title_short |
Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full |
Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the Canadian Arctic |
title_sort |
effect of snow cover on the vulnerability of lemmings to mammalian predators in the canadian arctic |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/94/4/813 https://doi.org/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-260.1 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Fox Arctic Ermine Mustela erminea Tundra Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fox Arctic Ermine Mustela erminea Tundra Vulpes lagopus |
op_relation |
http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/94/4/813 http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-260.1 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2013, Oxford University Press |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1644/12-MAMM-A-260.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Mammalogy |
container_volume |
94 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
813 |
op_container_end_page |
819 |
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1766304886353297408 |